The satirical newspaper The Onion has successfully acquired Infowars and its associated intellectual property, finally divesting conspiracy theorist Alex Jones of the right-wing disinformation outfit.
According to Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter, the deal grants The Onion ownership of Infowars’ “website, product inventory, customers lists, social media accounts, and intellectual property.”
In a series of lawsuits adjudicated in 2022, Jones was ordered to pay $1.5 billion to the families of Sandy Hook victims over his repeated false claims that the 2012 massacre of children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut was a hoax. In September, a Texas judge ruled that Jones’ assets — including the Infowars properties — could be auctioned off in order to pay the penalties owed by Jones.
It is not yet clear how much The Onion paid to acquire one of the most toxic properties in American media, but the publication stated on Thursday that it’s “goal with the acquisition is to end Infowars’ relentless barrage of disinformation for the sake of selling supplements and replace it with The Onion‘s relentless barrage of humor for good.”
Jones did not seem happy about the news in a video posted after the acquisition was announced, referring to The Onion, which is based in Chicago, as “Connecticut Democrats,” while complaining about the bidding process.
The Onion also announced that it had partnered with the gun-control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety to facilitate the acquisition, which would serve as an exclusive advertising partner for the Infowars relaunch under its new parent company. “It’s fitting that a platform once used to profit off of tragedy will be a tool of education, hence our multiyear advertising commitment to this new venture,” John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, added in Tuesday’s statement. “We’re proud to be a part of what comes next, not only in terms of staunching the flow of hurtful misinformation, but also for the potential this new venture has to help Everytown reach new audiences ready to hold the gun industry accountable for contributing to our nation’s gun violence epidemic.”
Chris Mattei, an attorney representing several Sandy Hook families, added that “from day one, these families have fought against all odds to bring true accountability to Alex Jones and his corrupt business. Our clients knew that true accountability meant an end to Infowars and an end to Jones’ ability to spread lies, pain, and fear at scale. After surviving unimaginable loss with courage and integrity, they rejected Jones’ hollow offers for allegedly more money if they would only let him stay on the air because doing so would have put other families in harm’s way.
“They are heroes, and it has been an honor and privilege to be their advocate throughout this fight. By divesting Jones of Infowars’ assets, the families and the team at The Onion have done a public service and will meaningfully hinder Jones’ ability to do more harm,” Mattei said.
In a frantic emergency broadcast following the news, Jones fell back on a tactic he’s been implementing for years — hysterically telling his viewers that his operation will be imminently shut down.
“They’re in the control room,” Jones told viewers on his backup streaming platform Banned Video. “Imperial troops are through the glass.” Longtime Trump adviser and right-wing operative Steve Bannon, who joined Jones on the emergency broadcast, repeatedly asked Jones to provide an update on what these “imperial troops” were doing, and suggested filming them live.
“Walk in the control room, put a frickin’ camera in their face, and let’s get a name, rank, and serial number,” Bannon suggested, claiming the “Gestapo” was coming after Jones.
Jones deflected, and he continued the broadcast without interruption. He later claimed that the “troops” had simply given up. “They heard what you just said, and they left the building, Jones told Bannon.
During the broadcast, Infowars’ primary website was shut down as Jones continued plugging his backup outlets and accounts to viewers.
From Rolling Stone US
